ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION 



231 



ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION 



As obstructions of one kind or another are frequently encountered, it 

 has been found necessary to resort to artificial methods of insemination 

 in those cases where the hindrance can be overcome and a passage forced 

 into the uterine cavity. 



For many years it has been the j^ractice with some stud-manaoers to 

 pass the fingers into the uterus of mares which failed to breed, before 

 putting them to the horse, the object being to open the passage for the 

 entrance of the seminal fluid, and in many instances with the result that 

 pregnancy has followed the service. 



In untutored hands this method of clearing the way has sometimes been 



Fig. 534. — Inseminator 

 A, India-rubber bulb; B, flexible tube; c, nozzle; D, guard, to prevent choking of the nozzle. 



followed by bad results, but when properly performed it is quite a harmless 

 and simple operation. One more .safe and reliable, however, is to resort to 

 artificial insemination. This is effected by means of an instrument (insemi- 

 nator) designed to collect the semen of the male from the vagina of the 

 female after service, and transfer it directly into the uterus. The practice 

 has been largely adopted by breeders, and with a considerable amount of 

 success. Among the earlier examples of its value in this country, was the 

 yearling filly "Sandflake", the daughter of "Trenton" and "Sandiway", 

 which, at the dispersal sale of the stud of the late Duke of Westminster, 

 was sold by auction to Mr. Sievier for 5500 guineas. This filly was the 

 result of conception following upon artificial insemination. 



In America the operation had been practised on a considerable scale for 

 many years, and to a less extent in France, Germany, Russia, India, and 

 other countries, before its adoption in these Islands was at all general. 



Mares which have been to service again and again year after year 



